Area archeologica nell'orto dei monaci di San Paolo fuori le Mura

During the period between 2008 and 2009, in advance of the Pauline Year, during excavation work for the construction of a number of pilgrims' services, a series of archaeological remains dating back to the early Middle Ages came to light in the southwest area, close to the Abbey's courtyard. The modern building above was completed, but in the basement a 'protection zone' was created for the unique remains, which were only mentioned in a plaque from the time of Pope Gregory the Great (590-604), kept at the Abbey.
 
It refers to a female community of a monastery with an oratory dedicated to St Stephen. The remains of a portico, columns, a well and a bell tower have emerged. The Vatican Museums and the Pontifical Institute of Christian Archaeology, with the financial support of the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums, have carried out more in-depth archaeological investigations, and have created a project for the restoration and exhibition of the museum, which is open to the public, with a tour of the excavation area. The project also saw the participation of the School of Specialisation in Architectural Heritage and Landscape of the "Sapienza" University of Rome.

On 28 June 2018, exactly five years after its first inauguration in 2013, the archaeological area in the Orto dei Monaci di San Paolo fuori le Mura concludes a long and articulated musealization project, reopening to the public with a new layout that is particularly functional and suggestive for the museographic and lighting solutions adopted.